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Victoria: Great Ocean Road (Part II)

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Cruising down the Great Ocean Road.

Getting back into the groove of updating my Melbourne adventures, this post is a sequel to my first post on Great Ocean Road in which we set off from Melbourne city, We cruised through the surfing beach town of Torquay, Bell Beach, Anglesea, Split Point Light House and then reached the town of Lorne for a lunch stop.

4. The Salty Dog Fish & Chippery

It was recommended online to grab fish & chips in Lorne, and so we did, at The Salty Dog Fish & Chippery which was supposedly the best place to have. We were pretty much starving at that point in time, and this little shack was stuffed with people! We grabbed the Family Pack which included 4 blue grenadier, 4 potato cakes, 4 fried dimi's, 8 calamari rings and 1 large chips for AUD58.10. While this piece of memory is quite faded, I remember that I really liked the grenadier fish and finished it up quite quickly. Possibly because of hunger, I went on to gobble up most of the stuff and left feeling really satisfied with the meal. I am not sure why The Salty Dog has such negative reviews online now - I just did a check - their quality surely isn't that bad, at least in my experience.

The most thrilling experience of watching these parrots and koala bears is knowing how you are observing them in their natural habitat... after all, for city people like us, seeing animals locked up in captivity is the norm. You might have to veer into Grey River Road away from Great Ocean Road at some point after crossing Kennett River if you're coming from Melbourne towards 12 Apostles. Keep your eyes peeled as they can appear any time! The parrots crowd around one particular area and there were many people surrounding the brightly coloured birds, so it was pretty obvious. On the other hand, the koalas are especially difficult to spot, but it was a rewarding time spent here. It will take some patience but it's not impossible.

6. Spooky Forest

Someway along the way between Kennett River and Cape Otway Light Station, we passed through a different landscape of forest and a stretch where the trees were bare with their branches at awkward angles. This is not a particular attraction but it's a welcomed change from the gorgeous but similar coastline view.

7. Otways National Park/ Cape Otways Light Station

This is the oldest working lighthouse in Australia and is supposed to provide some really gorgeous views from the vantage point. However, do note that the place to buy tickets for Cape Otways Light Station is separate from the Light Station itself (about half an hour drive), and you should aim to reach the ticket place by 4pm latest if you plan to go up the light station which closes at 5pm. We were too late so we just did a little short walk to a lookout point to see the light station. If you are doing the Great Ocean Road without a tight schedule to follow, be sure to seek for the Triplets Falls in Otways National Park (a 1-hr hike, return loop).

8. Twelve Apostles

This is the ultimate touristic pilgrimage of the entire Great Ocean Road - quite rightfully so! The rest of the attractions are unique but not as majestic as the Twelve Apostles. The atmosphere was so electrifying as everyone watched with bated breaths as we witnessed the glowing ball of fire sink into the horizon amidst angry clouds. Sunrises and sunsets happen everyday, but it's only when you're travelling you have the time to appreciate its beauty properly. Technically, there are only about eight apostles left as some have fallen due to physical and chemical weathering. After all they are submerged and worn down by crazily huge waves every day! Luckily, we managed to catch the sunset after much speeding! It is advised not to attempt such dangerous moves and plan ahead according to the sunset timings. Try to park your car at least an hour before the sunset timing because it is quite a walk from the carpark to the lookout point. We frantically ran all the way knowing the sky was dimming by the second, and reached there in 10 minutes.

9. Dinner at Warrnambool - The Liebig Cafe & Restaurant

A night stay at Warrnambool is an additional one hour ride away from Port Campbell, but significantly cheaper than staying at the inns at Port Campbell, the nearest town to the Twelve Apostles. For dinner, we headed out into the extremely quiet town of Warrnambool and into the most bustling Liebig Street... which didn't seemed populated by people at all. In hindsight I realized this was pretty similar to how silent Adelaide was. After we scoured some restaurants (most were uninteresting), we decided on The Liebig Cafe & Restaurant serving Vietnamese-Japanese-Singaporean-Thai dishes. In general it was a typical hit-and-miss sort of place. While its Tomyum Sukhothai was sufficiently spicy and fragrant, it tasted like somebody tipped the salt bucket in when the chef's not looking. I was in complete agreement with their Vietnamese noodles salad which was seriously good, with all that fish sauce, coriander, mint... it was super refreshing and tasty to enjoy. I would say it's completely worth it to return for their Vietnamese noodles.

The next post will be the last part of the Great Ocean Road series (until the next time I visit that coastline again) on more rocky formations ;)

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